Simeons graduated in medicine (summa cum laude) at the University of Heidelberg. In addition to his pioneer work using hCG for weight loss he also was well respected for his earlier work on bubonic plaque and leprosy control and awarded the Order of Merit for developing an effective new injectable treatment for malaria.

He began his interest in hCG while studying pregnant women in India on a calorie-deficient diet, and “fat boys” with pituitary problems (Frölich's syndrome) treated with low-dose hCG, and noticed that both lost fat rather than lean (muscle) tissue.

He deduced that hCG must be influencing the hypothalamus to do this in the cases of pregnancy in order to protect the developing fetus by promoting mobilization and consumption of abnormal, excessive adipose deposits.

After Simeons’ death in 1970, the diet continued to be popularized by individuals and it started to spread to specialized weight loss treatment centers, and come to the attention of such authors as Kevin Trudeau, who is famous for his promotion of alternative therapies and treatments.

HOW DOES HCG AFFECT METABOLISM

HCG causes your hypothalamus - the gland moderates the thyroid, adrenals, fat storage, and more importantly, your metabolic rate - to mobilize the fat out of the fat storage locations so that it's available for use. This "fat burning" is accelerated with the use of a low calorie diet. See more specific info about how hCG works using the reference links at the end of this page.

HOW DOES HCG ACCELERATE FAT LOSS

When HCG is used in conjunction with a low calorie diet, it enables stored fat (the excess fat) to be mobilized and used by the body as an energy source for producing body activity, heat, repair etc.

When hCG is combined with low calorie intake and the results are a healthy loss of body FAT, and therefore a reduced body weight. It is hCG's effects on your metabolic functions that initiate healthy FAT weight loss because while you are only consuming 500 calories, the hCG is enabling your hypothalamus to metabolically release excess fat stored in your body into your bloodstream in order to meet your body's daily requirements to function, by providing your body with the calories it needs to do this.

In other words, because of this released fat your body is actually operating on thousands of calories a day. The result is that your body burning thousands of calories from fat from your body each day, which is the reason HCG dieters lose 1-1.5 pounds of fat or more, per day.

WHAT IS HCG AND WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

HCG is produced HCG is extracted from the urine of pregnant women. Since Chorionic Gonadotrophin is also produced during the pregnancy of other mammals the letter "h" is added to indicate that it is human sourced.

HCG's SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION

What is hCG scientifically speaking? Human chorionic gonadotropin is a glycoprotein composed of 244 amino acids with a molecular mass of 36.7 kDa. Its total dimensions are 75×35×30 Ångströms (7.5×3.5×3 nanometers).

It is heterodimeric, with an α (alpha) subunit identical to that of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and β (beta) subunit that is unique to hCG.

What is hCG? It is a glycoprotein hormone produced in pregnancy that is made by the developing embryo after conception and later by the syncytiotrophoblast (part of the placenta). Its role is to prevent the disintegration of the corpus luteum of the ovary and thereby maintain progesterone production that is critical for a pregnancy in humans. hCG may have additional functions; for instance, it is thought that hCG affects the immune tolerance of the pregnancy.

HCG TESTING

Levels of hCG may be measured in the blood or urine, and urine samples are commonly used as an early pregnancy test to determine if conception has taken place.

Because hCG blood levels can also be elevated by Gestational Trophoblastic disease, and ovary and testis tumors (both cancerous and non-cancerous), testing hCG blood levels gives doctors a helpful marker in diagnosing and treating these types of cases as well.